You just never know who you will end up sitting next to on an airplane. But, it always pays to smile and say hello....

On a flight from London to Toronto yesterday, I had the good fortune to sit next to Edward Gerasi - a wonderful man who is establishing the "House of Hope" in the Kasere District of Uganda. Edward was born in a refugee camp along the border of Uganda and Zaire after his parents had fled violence in Rwanda. About 15 years ago, Edward moved to Canada as a refugee and became a Canadian citizen. Over the years, he settled down, got married, studied graphic design and worked on medical communications in the Toronto area.

During his periodic visits to Uganda to see his mother, Edward was struck by the increasing number of children who had been orphaned through the combination of HIV/AIDS and rebel insurgencies. While families in Uganda are quite close, there are many children who have no known remaining relatives to care for them. Many end up in cities living on the street; others end up under the care of the eldest child in the family (often as young as 12) in the rural areas where they live.

Wanting to repay the kindness shown to him when he was a refugee, Edward started to buy more land to build a larger compound for these children where he could help help meet their housing, food, medical and educational needs. Edward is now in the process of applying for official NGO status in Uganda. He has returned to Toronto to develop funding proposals and to seek support for the work he and his family are doing. Edward is looking for additional groups which might be interested in partnering with House of Hope. Finally, when I mentioned TIG to him, he said that he would LOVE to host enthusiastic young people from around the world who are interested in working hard with the children at the House of Hope.

If you are interested in meeting with contacting Edward; drop me an email through TIGmail. He will be sending me his email address and a copy of a proposal early next week.

Ha Lan Anh's update regarding "racism/intolerance at school" got me thinking about how few schools push students to think about what they are doing every day. My sense is that many students see school (especially high school) as something they have to suffer through before they can actually get on with life. They forget that it IS their life. That being in school means being part of a particular community - that it is their context for learning, changing, and being changed.

One of the things that continues to influence my life is the Statement of Beliefs that my high school developed about 10 years ago. I wish more schools could actually articulate their values and beliefs.

We Believe That...

• meaning is constructed not prescribed.
  
• all individuals have equal intrinsic worth.
  
• all people have an innate desire to learn.
  
• the human mind is the world's greatest resource.
  
• each person has the potential to change and to bring about change.
  
• without trust no human relationship can thrive.
  
• the survival of global civilization depends primarily on the quality of the education provided to all people.
  
• each person is responsible for his/her own choices and actions.
  
• belonging to a group requires alignment of self-interests and the common good.
  
• excellence is worth the effort but not always worth the costs.
  
• achieving our vision of the future depends upon our willingness to sacrifice.
  
• aversion to risk-taking stifles innovation and creativity.
  
• learning is an individual, life-long endeavor.
  
• valuable learning results from both failing and succeeding.
  
• all adults share responsibility for the well-being of all children.
  
• the ability to discern and create connections is the essence of knowing.
  
• a good life is characterized by harmony among the emotions, the body, the intellect, and the spirit.
  
• the process of education is more than the accumulation of facts.
  
• ethical conduct is essential to a harmonious life.
  

Yippee!! I finally received a print copy of the book I've been writing with my boss for the last year or so, "Strategic Intentions: Managing knowledge networks for sustainable development". We tried to summerize everything we've learned in the last five years about operating a particular model of formal NGO partnerships. The chapters I wrote were on internal communications and external engagement strategies. While I'm holding off on sending out announcements to listservs until IISD's new publications centre is online on the 18th, the PDF of the book (as well as older drafts of the working papers that led up to it) is available at http://www.iisd.org/networks/research.asp

Whew! Now I need to shift gears and get back to work on documenting good practice in non-profit Web site management. I've got a meeting in London on 17-18 January and I'd love to be able to bring the next draft of some new training materials with me.